Rain
by LittleTiger488
Summary: A one-shot look at Lola Bunny's character, her thoughts during a rainy morning work out session.


_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Lola Bunny, or any other characters/ideas from Looney Tunes or The Warner Bros. Studio. I am not writing this for profit, just for fun. It's a cartoon, let's not take it too seriously._

* * *

**Rain**  
_A Looney Tunes Fan Fic by LittleTiger488_

The alarm buzzed in her brain, smearing her dreams into reality. The clouds in her mind were replaced with her cotton pillows and the rolling waves, the blue comforter and sheets. The haze of the unconscious world sunk back into the depths of the unknown, dream dealings experienced during the night already forgotten.

Lola groaned as her hand broke through the sea of blankets to shut off the assaulting noise emanating from her nightstand clock. She focused her blurry vision on the red digital numbers, making out 5:31am across its sleek surface. She looked towards the window as if to confirm that it was morning. The thin curtains billowed around the frame, the slightly opened window allowing a cool breeze to manipulate their movement. The Lop-eared Sable rabbit noted the green tint to the dim light spilling into the room. The weathermen were right for once, it would rain today.

Lola liked the rain though. It was good weather for thinking.

Tempted to roll over and curl back up into her nest, Lola sighed and ran her fingers through the tussled strands of golden hair falling in front of her eyes. Will-power pulled her up from the mattress along with the thought that now that she was up, she wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep anyway.

Being careful not to disturb the gray Jack Rabbit still buried in the bedding beside her, Lola slipped out from under the blankets. She glanced over her shoulder at her partner, smiling. He had barely stirred from the alarm, a deep sleeper and in no way a morning person.

Her padded paws moved silently across the carpet to the bathroom. She winced as she flipped on the light, more so from her reflection in the mirror than the actual brightness. Yawning widely, showing off her two large front teeth, Lola stretched and reached for her tooth brush, running through her morning routine.

It took her mere minutes to dress into her gym shorts and work-out tank top, pulling her lop ears into a pony tail, held back tight with a black scrunchie. Slipping her delicate fingers into her trademark toon gloves, she flipped off the light of the bathroom and stepped out. She smiled once more at her bed mate, silently leaning over the side of the bed towards him.

Lola softly pressed her lips to his cheek, making his whiskers twitch and eliciting a quiet sigh from the gray rabbit. Not wanting to wake him anymore, she pulled away and grabbed her hooded sweatshirt and gym bag from the closet.

Making sure to snag a carrot and her water bottle from the fridge before she left, Lola stepped out onto the front porch of the rented house. The wind picked up and she looked at the darkening clouds rolling closer. Hopefully the rain would hold off until she made it to the gym. She slung her bag around her shoulder and munched on her breakfast as she walked down the sidewalk of the small suburb a few blocks from the Warner Brother's studio.

Post-Production for _Space Jam_ had just completed last week, but she opted to spend another week or two at the house she was renting for the many months of filming. Some down time was greatly needed before she decided what she would be doing next. The options seemed to be growing by the day.

After getting the part, she had originally thought she would just move back to Northern California after the movie was finished, but things change. Plans change. She didn't count on all of this.

But then, no one really does.

She had been content with her life for the most part before the movie. A few years out of college, a bachelors' in theatre and a bachelorette in health education, Lola wasn't unhappy as a physical education teacher. She was working her way up in the system, slowly hoping to get a steady teaching job when she received the message from one of her old professors. Always one with connections he was happy to share with his students, he informed her Warner Brothers was shooting a new feature film and there was a call for female rabbits.

Lola didn't expect much to come from it. This was a high budget film and she was hardly a face in the business, but her professor insisted she at least try. She fit all the requirements.

She had a small portfolio from college, a few commercials for ToonTown and voiceovers, but nothing spectacular. Auditions went typically, but she was still amused to find a call back notice on her answering machine. Apparently they were interested in her high school girls' basketball record. That alone made her laugh out loud. She knew the plot of the movie involved the famous Michael Jordan, but she he wasn't a state champion or anything. Course she did consider herself above average as far as her skills went, still though, nothing to get excited about. She didn't even play ball competitively in college. A lot of her pride went into her health, basketball was just her outlet. Were they serious?

But after a few more auditions, they practically dropped the part into her lap.

She wasn't about to complain, the nice hefty paycheck from the film would be just what she needed to get out of her studio apartment. Not to mention the experience would be golden. Working with the legendary Looney Tunes? Who could ask for anything more?

Meeting them, she was a lot less excited then she thought she would be. More like terrified. A few had thought the girl was a mute, not being able to find her voice when they greeted her, using all of her effort to keep from throwing up. But soon enough, seeing her fellow crew members daily wore away the star factor.

One face she rarely saw though was the co-leading actor. Rarely on set unless he was actually in the scene, the rabbit was MIA during the first half of production and almost non-existent during pre-production. No one seemed worried in the least, they said it was his nature, he'd show up when he was needed. Lola would wrinkle her nose at that attitude. She preferred to be where the action was, get a real feel for the set and who she was working with. She worried she would clash with the main lead.

But when they met, Lola still found her voice caught in the bellows of her throat, bubbling up in spurts. He regarded her with a cool smile, tossing her a script and a carrot. His mellow attitude calmed her down. She found speech came much easier from then on.

Weeks passed and working on set started to feel more natural for her. It was also resurfacing her love of the game, motivating her to practice more and find muscles she had long forgotten she had. Basketball took the edge off.

Thunder broke her thought process and Lola glanced up at the sky, blinking as a particularly large rain drop landed on her powder pink nose. She pulled up the hood to her sweater, picking up her pace to reach the gym a few yards away. It was pouring by the time she reached the doors.

She moved through the dark halls, the way to the court engrained in her, the path second nature. A few rooms were lightened; a weight room, the locker to the pool area. It wasn't uncommon to find a few early risers there.

She pushed open one of the double doors to the court, reaching over to flip the succession of switches to light the area. Her light footsteps were the only ones on the polished floor that morning. She dropped her bag in front of bleachers as she pulled her sweater off, shaking out her ears and bangs.

Lola lowered herself to the gym floor, extending her legs out and stretching the stiffness from her muscles. She breathed in the familiar scent of the gym. Being an animal of prey, no matter how evolved she was, familiarity was a welcome scent.

She thought about the time she walked in on him practicing. Goodness did that rabbit suck at the game. He never really got any better at it either. Most of the shots in the movie were tricks of the camera. Any basket he actually made was usually pure luck. It didn't seem to bother him though; it was easy for him to laugh off his short comings. Lola admired that humble aspect of him.

She remembered offering her services to him as a teacher, but he had decided to take it in another way.

As humble as he was about his talents, the rabbit was still male. She had waved his casual advances off, but the Jack Rabbit was devious by nature.

She laughed out loud at the memory of his ridiculous suggestion that they rehearse a certain scene a few times, "ya know, so it looked believable." She explained how incredibly cliché the line was and he reminded her that he made his living off of clichés. She humored him, shrugging off her feminine pride and telling herself that she was lucky to get the chance. When opportunity knocks…

And boy did it knock. She kept telling herself it was built up stress, it was a rebellious streak that bloomed late in life, it was simply hormones, but after one thing lead to another, and that thing lead to the gym supply closet… well… plans change.

She hardly regretted it later. She had felt a bit oppressed in past months, only harboring a hand full of dates and mates here and there. Work kept her from ever really putting any effort into relationships. And the man was a legend. You just don't say no to legends.

Like most things in her life, Lola didn't expect anything to come from it, but was pleasantly surprised to find flowers in her dressing room the next day. No note, but it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

She regarded their back and forth as a very laid-back understanding. Being commitmently challenged herself, she was happy to keep whatever it was that they were very informal. It wasn't until about six months into production that she noticed her partner start to shift gears. He stopped chatting up various girls on the set, insisted on her company to events, and pretty much made his intentions clear. It was starting to get a little crowded in dressing room and she had long run out of places to put the vases.

Lola couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She still accepted date offers from others, never once thinking anything of it. She could hardly be considered chaste and thoughts of a steady relationship were far from her mind. The thought that he was singling her out, while she was still keeping around her little black book started to mess with her. Would she ever allow herself to take someone seriously in that department?

She never had before.

Lola stood up from her stretching, pulling the worn basketball from her gym bag. She dribbled it a few times as she walked onto the court. Her mind wandered as she paced the three-point line, her eyes on the ball as she suddenly started to weave in and out of an imaginary offence.

Things had just seemed to speed up in the last few months, especially when he spent more and more time at her place. Unlike previous mates though, she didn't find herself in a hurry to make him leave either. She enjoyed their time together, his voice, his touch.

Her breathing quickened as she moved down the court, faking shots, passing the ball between her ankles a few times. Her long limp ears flung to and fro with her movements.

She had been seeing him more often in her dreams. Found herself comfortable to fall asleep in his arms virtually anywhere with no problem. His scent was on all of her clothes… her bed… her couch… her car.

Sweat plastered her blonde bangs to her forehead as she picked up another rebound, the swish of the net echoing throughout the empty court.

A few of their dates had brought forth butterflies from her stomach, a few kisses here and there that weakened her knees. Why did he make her think about him so much?

Her heart was in her brain, pounding rapidly.

Was he becoming stable to her and she hadn't even realized it? Was this what steady meant? Was she in-

Lola let the ball bounce away from her as she whirled around at the sound of the gym doors opening. A figure entered the court, pulling down his valor hood dotted with rain drops.

The Dutch colored rabbit smiled at her, basketball on his hip as he walked forward. Lola sighed, letting her breath return to her as she walked over to retrieve her ball. She tossed it onto her gym bag as she picked up her water bottle, taking a generous swig.

"Did I scare you?" the rabbit asked, dribbling his own ball.

"Hardly, Kevin…" Lola answered, blowing her sweaty bangs out of her face. She felt herself caught up in the rabbit's sudden embrace; his hand behind her head brought her forward for a deep kiss. She instinctively ran her hand across his shoulders, up his neck to the black wedge of fur around his cheeks. His scent was familiar, instinctively welcoming, but…

A cramp kicked her side and Lola squinted her eyes in a wince. She pulled away from him, unhooking his arms from around her waist. Kevin watched her in confusion as she picked up her basketball and walked back out onto the court.

The black and white rabbit pulled off his wind breaker and followed her out onto the court. "Something the matter, Lola?"

She shrugged in response, shooting the ball and missing. Kevin caught it, smirking at her. "I've known you since freshman year… you wanna try that again?" He tossed the ball at her.

Lola bit her lower lip as she caught the ball, dribbling it a few times. She ignored his question, sprinting past him towards the net. He dashed after her, trying to block her shots as she spun around him, passing the ball behind her back. He knocked it out of her hand and made his way down the court but she caught up, stealing the ball back skidding towards her net, leaping into a dunk.

He jogged back over to her, out of breath and leaning over as he huffed.

"You didn't stretch," Lola said through heavy breaths, staring back at him.

He swallowed and looked up at her. "It's about him, isn't it?"

Lola sighed and turned back around to shoot the ball at the net a few more times. Kevin hung his head for a moment before following after the brown bunny, smirking.

"Looooola…."

She ignored him, missing every shot she attempted. He caught the rebound of one, stepping in front of her view. She locked eyes with him, a friend she had known since the beginning of college. Someone who had possibly been more than a friend a few times. Someone who had admitted feelings to her once, but she never reciprocated more than simple physical need.

It was then she saw Kevin for what he was. Every relationship she had ever had. Like a faucet, something she turned on and off at will, something that was in her daily life that she more so expected to be there without a thought of what would happen if it wasn't. They had all been like that.

Up until now.

She was finally having thoughts about what would happen if she lost him. If he wasn't there anymore. If he became what Kevin was to her now. Just something that she would lead along until she got tired of, or afraid of getting too close to. Lola looked down to the polished floor of the court.

Kevin reached down to tilt her chin up, but she gently batted his hand away. She took her ball from him and walked back over to her bag.

Kevin sighed and watched her pull on her sweatshirt. "This it?" he asked. She nodded as she put her basketball back into her bag and took her water bottle out for a sip.

Kevin stared at her, unblinking. "…What was different this time, Lola?"

She swished the water around in her mouth a bit before swallowing. Looking down as she screwed the top back on to the bottle, she bit her lower lip in thought. It took her a few seconds before she could look back at her old fling.

"I love him?" she stated simply, shrugging as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

Kevin broke his stare and smiled as he ran his fingers through the mess of white bangs between his long ears. He nodded and looked up as she shot him a half hearted smile and headed towards the double doors. Lola pulled her hood up and dug her gloved hands into the front pocket of her hooded sweatshirt as she walked out into the rain.

She walked home, regardless of the downpour.

The house was still dark and quiet when she returned, the only sound being the pitter patter of rain against the roof and window panes. She dropped her bag at the door and started to peel her soaked sweater off her body. All she could think about was a warm shower as she continued to shed her clothes on the way to her bedroom, leaving a trail behind her and not caring enough to go back and retrieve them.

Down to her undergarments and not stopping, Lola entered the darkened bedroom, trying to quiet the chatter of her teeth and making a b-line for the bathroom.

She stopped short at the soft sound of the only other occupant in the room clearing his throat. She turned to see him lazily rolled over on his side, watching her move around in the dim light.

She smiled at the amused look on his maw, the tip of one of his long ears flopped over in front of his face.

"Morning…" She kept her voice low, leaning on the door frame of the bathroom.

"You look cold, doc…" he responded, pulling back the few layers of blankets in a simple gesture.

Lola's smile grew, shower forgotten, as she sauntered over to the bed. She crawled into the Jack Rabbit's awaiting arms, his body heat warming her damp fur.

She purred slightly as she nestled her cream colored muzzle into the pure white of his chest fur. He shifted a bit until they were both comfortable, staring up at the ceiling as he ran his ungloved hand up and down her bare back. She wrapped her arms around his upper body, settling down and breathing in his scent.

They closed their eyes and listened to the storm for awhile, both close to drifting off back to sleep. He broke the silence with a hushed message, whispering three specific words to her. Words he found himself uttering more frequently. Words that at first scared her, but had started to sound appropriate.

Lola opened her eyes and stared into the ocean of gray fur on his arm. She lifted her head slightly, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at his peaceful, tired face. She had long since memorized his features in great detail; the length of his whiskers, the lighter grey patch of fur above his nose, thinning out with age. Little things she never bothered remembering about others, but had never realized how important they were.

The words slipped from her before she even thought them.

"I love you too, Bugs."

He opened his eyes slowly to look back at her. She smiled as if to confirm it was her who had spoken the statement, words she had never voiced until now. He scanned her aqua eyes for a few moments before returning the smile. He leaned forward, his nose touching hers slightly before she closed the gap.

They spent the rest of the morning there, lost in the song of the rain.  
**  
The End**


End file.
